St. Leo University in Key West offers psychology degree

BACHELOR’S PROGRAM IS SCHOOL’S NEWEST

Saint Leo University’s Key West Education Center is offering a new bachelor’s degree program, adding to the center’s 12 existing degree programs. The new addition is a bachelor’s in psychology-general.

“We at the Key West Center want to see the center itself grow and adding the program to this location has truly opened doors for us; our students are excited to have a new program at this location and to gain the new experience that comes along with it,” said Jeffrey Hite, center director.

Saint Leo University began educating students in Key West in 1975. Now, the education center is located at Naval Air Station Key West, A-718 Essex Circle, Key West, FL 33040. While Saint Leo’s location on base makes it accessible and convenient for military-affiliated students, the center staff also are able to sponsor anyone who may then attend classes on base, Hite said.

“Earning a psychology degree means that students have learned skills that are essential and applicable to a wide variety of career paths,” said Keith Burton, associate chair of Saint Leo’s Social Sciences Department and an assistant professor of psychology. “These skills include critical thinking, independent and group work experience, research techniques, a familiarity with statistics, and both written and oral communication. Thus, there are few limits on what kinds of careers students can build for themselves. I like to point students to the (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) Occupational Outlook Handbook’s psychology page (bls.gov/ooh/ field-of-degree/psychology/psychology-fieldof-degree.htm) to help them start digging more into what’s possible.”

Prospective psychology students should think about what interests them in that field, Burton said. “If they want to help people in need, there are many careers within the helping professions that they could look to, such as community and social service roles,” he said. “If they’re interested in education, there are many roles they could pursue there, too. There are many management, business and sales roles they’d be qualified for, and there are plenty of roles for them in the health care field. Some of these paths would require additional education or training, and a psychology undergraduate degree would offer an excellent foundation.”

While professionals are needed in all fields, Hite said he thinks that the Florida Keys population “can highly benefit from this program and the many benefits that it brings to us all.”

Additional degree programs offered in-person and online at the Key West Education Center include: associate’s degrees in in liberal arts, business administration, and criminal justice; bachelor’s degrees in business administration: management, marketing, and technology management; criminal justice: criminalistics and homeland security; elementary education; human resource management; and middle grades education: English and social science.

Saint Leo University is a nonprofit, Catholic university that is regionally accredited, and its residential campus is in Saint Leo, north of Tampa. At its Key West Education Center, students have access to onsite advising, library resources and a computer lab.

“The most important thing is that the students who become affiliated with the Key West Center have staff who are local and are present,” Hite said. “We are able to be here for one-on-one meetings to accommodate students’ needs.”

Students at Saint Leo’s Key West Education Center also have opportunities to join clubs, honor societies, and organizations as well as giving back by participating in community service projects to benefit the area. In addition, Saint Leo students complete internships and externships with Key West businesses.

For the convenience of students — most of whom are working, adult learners — classes are held after 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The summer 1 term begins May 8, summer 2 classes begin July 5, and the fall 1 term classes start August 28.

For more information, email Jeff Hite, interim Key West Education Center director, jeffrey.hite@saintleo.edu or 305-293-2847. He also may be reached at Ext. 3621.

About Saint Leo University

Saint Leo University is one of the largest Catholic universities in the nation, offering more than 100 undergraduate and graduate-level degree programs and specializations to more than 15,300 students each year. Founded in 1889 in the Benedictine tradition, the private, nonprofit university is known for providing an education to learners of all backgrounds and ages. Saint Leo is regionally accredited and offers a residential campus in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, at education centers, and through an online program for students anywhere. The university is home to more than 103,000 alumni. More information is at saintleo.edu. — Contributed